Army

Perhaps having time to make a change that would put his personal stamp on the Army program, head coach Cavanaugh altered the helmet that Saban had introduced. He kept the black helmet shell and added a silver one-inch center stripe, left a one-quarter-inch black gap, and added one-inch flanking stripes in Green Bay gold, a unique look for Army teams, especially when it was framed by the black mask. A second consecutive 3-7-1 campaign with a 3-3 tie with Navy and wins only against Ivy League opponents made the alumni anxious. RB Walker was the primary weapon, both rushing and catching out of the backfield. Defensively, the backfield was at times effective but the overall results were lacking. Relying on a QB rotation that did not produce reliable results in 1982, and with a defense led by LB Jim Mitroka whose only truly solid game was against lowly Columbia were pitfalls that could not be overcome. The 22-7 loss to Napolean McCallum and Navy, Cavanaugh's third in his three seasons as head coach was seen as unforgivable by the alumni and brass. Three seasons, ten total wins and 0-3 against the Midshipmen ended Cavanaugh's tenure three weeks after the close of the '82 season.